City wins latest round in skirmish over GG Park recycling center

A state appeals court has refused to block the city’s plan to evict a recycling center from the southeastearn corner of Golden Gate Park.

But the protracted legal battle may not end there. Ed Dunn, the manager of the recycling center, run by the Haight Ashbury Neighborhood Council (HANC), said Monday that his organization may ask the California Supreme Court to intervene.

The state Court of Appeal on Friday rejected HANC’s claim that it was being ousted from the site on the basis of discrimination and retaliation — discrimination against its homeless clientele, and retaliation for speaking up against then-Mayor Gavin Newsom’s sit/lie ordinance and other policy initiatives. The court described the assertion as “factually unsupported and nonsensical.”

The San Francisco Recreation and Park Department began the eviction proceedings in late 2010 when Newsom, now lieutenant governor, was still mayor. His successor, Mayor Ed Lee, has backed the Recreation and Park Department’s decision to oust the recycling center, which has operated at its current location near Frederick and Stanyan streets, next to Kezar Stadium, since 1980. The Board of Supervisors, meanwhile, went on record in opposition of forcing HANC out.

The city issued HANC a ”notice of termination,” to take effect June 30, 2011, but the eviction has been held up with the pending litigation.

Some neighbors have been complaining for years that the recycling center has been the source of unwanted noise, traffic and safety problems, and park officials determined that its operation is incompatible with park activities. The city plans to replace it with a community garden.

But Dunn said that despite the expansion of curbside recycling in San Francisco, the HANC center still provides a needed service. He also notes that the organization also runs a native plant nursery at the site, which has become an increasingly important aspect of the operation. “So what they want to do is replace a garden with a garden,” he said.

HANC has 40 days to petition the state Supreme Court. Meanwhile, park officials have no plans to back down from its position.

“We look forward to proceed with the neighborhood-supported plan for a community garden at the site,” said Sarah Ballard, a Rec and Park Department spokeswoman.